I’m a supporter of We Need Diverse Books, a campaign that gained traction in 2014 by highlighting publisher’s failings in publishing and supporting diversity in books and the workplace. It has not gone unnoticed that this is one of the main changes that I foresee happening in the publishing industry. Embracing diversity, reading broadly, these are principles I can stand behind. This is why I pledge to read 15 diverse books this year! 15 may not seem like a lot, but my Goodreads goal is 50, so that’s a fair 30%.

July 2015

This month I made a startling discovery. I was not naturally picking up diverse books. In fact, most of the books I was reading were by men! I wrote this post about why it was important to seek out diverse authors and characters and then my diversity tally really started moving.

September 2015

I updated my Goodreads goal from 50 to 60, so as a result I have increased my diverse book pledge from 15 to 20 (33% of the goal). Tally ho!

December 2015

Hooray! My reading is complete. This wasn’t just a challenge for the sake of challenges, I plan on continuing to read diversely. It’s not just a trend, it’s a reflection of the world. I’d be happy to repeat or attempt to exceed my goal for next year.